NPR 2008-03-09

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Korva Coleman.

 Wyoming Democrats¹ today have what some say is once in a lifetime chance to affect a national election. The nation’s least populous² state has 12 Democratic delegates at stake in today's caucuses³. Wyoming Public Radio's Eddie * reports.
 
Many Wyoming Democrats say it’s not easy being blue in a small red state. Today they’ll seize their moment in the spotlight⁴. Polls in highly populated Laramie and Natrona counties opened this morning, while some smaller counties' polls don't open until this afternoon. Both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama toured Wyoming yesterday, each packing venues⁵ with Democrats and Republicans and independents who want to get a piece of the action. As for who will win today it is any one’s guess. The state is so small and the attention so recent that there aren't any polls. For NPR News, I’m Eddie * in Laramie.
 
Leaders of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela have shaken hands and agreed to end a tense dispute that led to troop movements along the Venezuelan boarder. It all began when Colombian troops crossed into Ecuador and killed a Colombian rebel leader. Colombia accused Venezuela of supporting insurgents⁶, and Venezuela and Ecuador then sent troops to their borders with Colombia. Now a meeting of those countries’ presidents has ended the growing crisis. Notes from the meeting in the Dominican Republic say Colombia has apologized for the cross-border incursion and won’t repeated it. But this commits all countries to fight criminal threats to their national stability.
 
Iraq's president told the president of Turkey during a sate⁷ visit today he would not allow Kurdish rebels to launch attacks against Turkey from Iraq. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports.
 
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani urged rebel Kurds to lay down their arms and said Iraq could work with Turkey on a number of security issues important to both countries. Talabani is a Kurd and his visit comes at a time when Turkey and Iraq are trying to put a volatile⁸ situation behind them. Just last month, Turkey invaded northern Iraq, targeting rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Turkish forces were in Iraq for 8 days before they pulled out. The PKK has been fighting for political and cultural autonomy in southeastern Turkey and has been using northern Iraq as a base to launch attacks. Talabani said Iraq could work to ensure that the PKK wasn't able to use Iraq as a base of operations. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, Baghdad.
 
Suspected arms dealer⁹ Viktor Bout¹⁰ will stay in the custody¹¹ of Thai police. They arrested him Thursday on suspicion that he planned to sell weapons in Thailand. Bout has been accused of supplying rebels around the world with guns and with violating UN arms embargos. Some fighters he is accused of helping¹² include rebels in Columbia, fighters with former Liberia leader Charles Taylor in his effort to destabilize Sierra Leone, and fighters in the former Soviet¹³ Republics. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia says this ends a reign¹⁴ of terror.
 
This is NPR.
 
Aircraft maker¹⁵ Boeing says it’s thinking about challenging an Air Force decision awarding a huge aerospace¹⁶ program to a Boeing rival. The rival team includes both US aircraft maker Northrop Grumman and European aircraft maker EADS. Boeing says it has significant concerns especially about how the bids for the job were evaluated. U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told Congress Wednesday that the rival Airbus/EADS offer was better.
 
It was another grueling and losing week on Wall Street. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports.
 
One thing after another kept the stock market off balance this past week as increasingly anxious investors¹⁷ watch the deepening mortgage credit crisis slam the economy. The week culminated¹⁸ in a dismal¹⁹ February employment report. Instead of rising by 30,000 as expected, nonfarm payrolls²⁰ fell by 63,000. For many that clenched²¹ the case for recession; another early morning Federal Reserve announcement that it will greatly boost lending to strained banks and securities firms did little to stem the tide of selling that ensued when markets opened. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 1 and a quarter percent to close well below the 12,000 level, the S&P 500 and NASDAC composite fell more modestly. For the week, the Dow drops 3, the S&P 2.8 and NASDAC 2.6%. For NPR news, I am Steve Backner.
 
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher²² is still in a hospital for an undisclosed illness. She is in stable condition. The 82-year-old has been given precautionary medical tests. Her doctors say she remains²³ under observation, but is well.
 
I’m Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.

 

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

4 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

5 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 sate   

v.使充分满足

参考例句：

• Nothing could sate the careerist's greed for power.什么也满足不了这个野心家的权力欲。
• I am sate with opera after listening to it for a whole weekend.听了整整一个周末的歌剧，我觉得腻了。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

10 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

11 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

14 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

15 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

16 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

18 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

20 payrolls   

n.（公司员工的）工资名单( payroll的名词复数 )；（公司的）工资总支出，工薪总额

参考例句：

• Indices of employment, payrolls, and production steadied in February 1931931年2月，就业、工资额和生产指数稳定。 来自辞典例句
• Wall Street responded to the payrolls figures with gusto. 华尔街对就业数据作出了积极的反应。 来自互联网

21 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

23 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。